Interesting information from a very experienced Attorney which specializes in handling Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Elder Law issues including Guardianships, Medicaid Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Wills and Trusts

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Doctors payments to be cut by Medicare on December 1

Unless Congress intervenes, payments to doctors for treating Medicare patients will be cut by 23 percent on Dec. 1 and another 6.5 percent on Jan. 1. In recent years, the payment formula has called for cuts, but each time lawmakers have stepped in to block them before they took effect or shortly afterward. In April, the Congressional Budget Office said that blocking the cuts until January 2012 would cost about $15 billion. A long-term formula fix, through 2020, would cost about $276 billion, it said.The American Medical Association is gearing up for the lame-duck congressional session scheduled to start Nov. 15. If nothing happens the tough decisions for physicians. The reality is between now and the end of December physicians have to make a decision about their status related to Medicare. Do they want to continue participating and take the cuts?

About Me

Bill
was born and raised in Peoria, IL. He graduated from the
University of Notre Dame with a B.A. degree in Government. He received
his law degree (JD) at the University of Iowa graduating with honors. He has been practicing law in Central Illinois since his
graduation and admission into the Illinois Bar.

Legal ability and
ethical standards ratings are published each year by the
Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.Bill has the highest possible rating of
AV. The legal ability rating is "A" which means he is rated as very
high to preeminent. The "V" rating means that he embraces faithful
adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics of the legal
profession. He is also listed on the Bar Register Of Preeminent Lawyers
by Martindale-Hubbell. These ratings are developed for individual
attorneys by soliciting confidential opinions from attorneys who have
ratings themselves and those who do not.

Bill practices in three
(3) primary areas. First, Bill represents persons who are no longer able
to work and are applying for disability benefits. As a social security
disability attorney he has represented persons before the Social
Security Administration (SSA) since the early 1980's in seeking Social
Security Disability benefits (SSD) and Supplemental Security Income
(SSI). These claimants have significant mental and/or physical
disabilities which prevent them from working. The disability hearing
office for the Social Security Administration (ODAR) in Central
Illinois is located in Peoria. He is a member of the National
Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR).
This is an organization of attorneys and others who assist those with
disabilities. He has represented persons at all levels, from initial
application, reconsideration and hearing. Bill has one of the largest
social security disability practices in Central Illinois and has
appeared in hundreds of hearings before the Social Security
Administration.

Bill practices in the area of Elder law. This
area of law involves Medicaid planning and asset protection advice for
those individuals entering nursing homes, planning for the possibility
of disability through the use of powers of attorney for the both health
care and property, guardianship, estate and tax planning, probate and
estate administration, preparation of wills, living trusts and special
or supplemental needs trusts. Many of the special needs or supplemental
needs trusts are created for the benefit of disabled children by their
parents and grandparents. He represents clients primarily in Peoria,
Tazewell and Woodford counties. This requires the knowledge of Illinois
Medicaid rules and regulations. He was certified as an Elder Law
Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) in 2003, re-certified in 2008 and 2013. He was the third attorney in Illinois certified as
CELA and is the only practicing Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) in
downstate Illinois. Lawyers who are certified as specialists have been
recognized by independent professional certifying organizations as
having an enhanced level of skill, as well as substantial involvement in
established legal specialty areas. Certifying organizations require
lawyers to demonstrate special training, experience and knowledge to
ensure that recognition as a certified specialist is meaningful and
reliable. Bill joined as a charter member of the prestigious Council of
Advanced Practitioners (CAP) of the National Academy of Elder Law
Attorneys (NAELA). The CAP is an invitation only Council providing
specialized member benefits to NAELA's Advanced Practitioners.
Membership in CAP is available to preeminent Elder Law Attorneys.
Eligible Candidates must be: 1) a National Academy of Elder Law
Attorneys (NAELA) member for a minimum of ten years, 2) AV rated by
Martindale Hubbell, and 3) be either a NAELA Fellow or a CELA (Certified
Elder Law Attorney). He was selected by other attorneys in Illinois and
recognized by Chicago Magazine as an Illinois Super Lawyer in the area
of Elder Law for 2007 through 2012 and again 2015. He is a member of Estate Planning
Council of Central Illinois.

Bill is the General Counsel for
the Illinois Public Transit Risk Management Association which is a risk
pool which provides a liability and property self insurance program for
the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District (CityLink), the Champaign
Urbana Mass Transit District (CUMTD), the Rock Island County
Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLink) and Rides Mass Transit
District. He has also acted as Special Counsel to the newly formed
Stateline Mass Transit District (SMTD) in northern Illinois.Bill is labor counsel to the Rock Island County
Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLink).

In
addition to the defense work he has done in the public transit arena,
he has done litigation defense work in the past for Home Insurance
Company, Western States Insurance Company, Casualty Insurance Company,
Transamerica Insurance Company, Pekin Insurance Company, Westfield
Companies and Employers Mutual Insurance Company. This has included
civil litigation and workers' compensation matters. He has also done
litigation defense work in the public utility industry. Due to his
experience in this area, he has also represented personal injury victims
in civil cases as well as injured workers before the Illinois Workers
Compensation Commission.